The Portal of Dreams
by Keema Lana
Summary: Ever since she fell asleep one night and got attacked in her dreams, Kagome is able to visit the village of Konoha-but only in her sleep. As every dream passes, and she gets to know the people within them better, she starts sleeping longer and longer each time. One day, she might not wake up... But at least that guy with the black eyes is there for her, right? ...Right? \.SasuKag./
1. Prologue-Deep in the Night

**Prologue**

Hey… Yeah, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I just moved to Illinois… I lost the computer for over a month and a half. I think I had a seizure at one point. But now, I'm back! And with a new story, too… Hopefully I can update the other ones while I'm at it…

*Sniffle* Anyways, here's the story. It's a crossover between Inuyasha and Naruto, and it's a Kagome and Sasuke pairing.

And this is all I shall tell you about it… until next chapter, which will come up sometime later this week. I swear. Maybe even tomorrow, at best. But don't get your hopes up.

So, without further ado, enjoy the story! (Or, the prologue, anyways. Yes, I am teasing you. Surprised? You shouldn't be…)

She wasn't pretty.

Her body was littered with cuts and bruises, and she was exhausted beyond belief. She couldn't take it anymore…

It was midnight, and although the moon was out, the trees cast upon her an inky blackness that swallowed her whole and welcomed her in. She was more than willing to let it take her wherever it wanted her to go, her legs too tired to carry her own weight any longer.

She watched the night pass her by calmly, as if it wasn't her who was dying, but somebody else.

Detached from the world around her, she observed the towering trees high up above her become even farther away as she fell to the ground, the dirt meeting the right side of her body with a resounding crack that bounced off of the bark throughout the forest.

A flock of red-eyed crows flew from the trees at the disturbance, temporarily covering the full copper moon above that was dancing around in the sky along with the small balls of light that were the stars. The woman faintly registered that her hard fall had caused her right arm to break and stick out at an odd angle.

Dull stormy gray orbs blinked tiredly, and eventually slid shut. Bright images flashed in her mind's eye and full- albeit cracked and injured- red lips lifted up slightly in content. She would be seeing her loved ones once again.

Would they be happy to see her? Or would they be disappointed that she had joined them so soon? She knew they wouldn't like the fact that she was giving up so quickly, but she felt that it was her time.

She absorbed the moon's shine that had been blocked by the trees before, but somehow, it had moved over the short amount of time she'd been sprawled out on the ground in a wacky position. Or had she been here for hours? She couldn't tell; her sense of time had never been quite accurate.

Her life was slipping away, her soul seeping out of her body at a torturously slow pace. She wanted it over and done with _now_.

Her last thought was as she went unconscious, _'Will anybody ever find me?'_

Gahahaha… See ya later, alligators!

~Keema Lana


	2. Chapter One-Da fuq is this sorcery?

OKAY. Next chapter, little peoplez. HEYYYY… REVIEW ALREADY? OMG. *Spazzes out*

Lulu: Why, thank you. I've never been fond of summaries, but the fact that my crappy summary brought you in here makes me feel all warm and tingly inside. ^_^

(Also, guys… please don't complain about Sasuke. I can't write him without making him have some emotions, at least. So, while I try to watch a bunch of Naruto episodes over and over to get Sasuke in character, bear with me, please?

**Chapter 1****- Separate Dream Worlds**

Sandals crunched over dead autumn leaves, a figure with midnight eyes scanning the area for the clamor that had occurred around here last night. It was his mission to try to recover who might've been in Konoha territory who didn't belong. Of course, the best mission he'd get would be a D-rank. Or was it a C-rank…? He couldn't honestly remember, but what did it matter? He would still be paid little money, and the mission in itself was probably a dud.

'_Such a crazy old man, claiming to have seen a dead woman lying about somewhere…'_ The Uchiha sighed. It was midafternoon, and the sun was lazing around in the sky, making the atmosphere around him feel not only comfortable, but completely trustworthy and, all in all, safe.

'_There couldn't be a dead person here. It's too bright and cheerful.' _Sasuke scoffed inwardly, disbelieving. He padded onward, though, still loyal to the mission._ 'I need everything I can get, money-wise.' _He reasoned, and, satisfied with that answer, he pushed on a little faster, determined to finish.

Then the air around him suddenly chilled. Sasuke did _not_ shiver. Uchihas didn't show emotions. _'Scratch what I thought earlier. Apparently there _can _be dead people in the middle of an innocent forest.'_

… And there she was, in a pool of blood. She sure _looked_ dead, alright. But if he inched just a little bit closer, he could see her chest rise and fall in quick, rapid breaths. _'There's still a chance,'_ he thought, observing the wounds that decorated her face and belly. Her odd green-and-white kimono was ripped across the front, giving him a view of her abused stomach.

Then he noticed other injuries, like her broken arm, and her sprained ankle. _'Just what the hell happened to this girl?' _He wondered, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. _'Why would someone do this to a woman? She doesn't look all that capable of making such enemies. Her body structure is small, and although she looks like she exercises, she doesn't seem to have enough muscle to pack a real punch…'_

As Sasuke pondered, he reached out and carefully gathered the woman in his arms. She was light as a feather, thankfully. He carried the nameless female bridal-style back towards Konoha village, and seriously hoped that he wouldn't get into trouble for bringing her back.

Oh, wait. Uchihas didn't have emotions… so, um, forget the hoping thing. Sasuke couldn't hope to save his life, apparently. He just… did not… appreciate… getting shouted at by the Hokage.

Okay, seriously? _'Forget it. I do have emotions… but it'll be my little secret. Forever.' _He decided, and, determined to get the girl some medical help, began to run the fastest he could without jostling her injuries any further then he had already. Which was more like jogging.

'_Godammit, I'll never get there in time!'_

…_oOo...The Portal of Dreams…oOo…_

Kagome threw herself upright, out of sleeping position, and screamed loudly, alerting everyone at the camp that she was awake. Kirara hissed in surprise, Shippo screeched in fear, Miroku tensed, his eyes wide open in less than a second, Sango tumbled out of her sleeping arrangements, and Inuyasha cringed at the loud noise, growling, and very alert. After he realized that there was no danger… he was pissed.

"Kagome! What the hell?" he snapped, grumpy from being awoken. He'd just fallen asleep for the first time in a week, and had been hoping to catch a few winks. Or forty. But that was all put on hold when he noticed Kagome was shaking, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"I died… Oh, my God, and I didn't even care. I died… and didn't care. Oh, my God…" she just kept babbling nonsensically, her form trembling with fear. Her eyes were wide in shock and other nameless emotions, but Inuyasha could guess pretty well what was on her mind.

Shippo reached out a small, clawed hand and gently tugged on his guardian's hand, worry displayed on his face. "K-Kagome? Are you okay?" he asked in a small voice, terrified of what was affecting said woman like so.

He'd never really seen her like this, so out of control. She usually had a pretty good hold on her emotions, and lately, had become an expert at being emotionless whenever Inuyasha ran off to see Kikyo, which scared the crap out of the rest of the Inutachi. Her face would go blank, and no one would be able to tell just what she was thinking. It was the exact opposite of who she really was; she always wore her heart on her sleeve, and had been proud of it.

When she refused to show emotions… she looked so much like Kikyo, all Shippo wanted to do was take the power of Inuyasha's sit command and sit the hanyou until there was a big enough hole in the ground to become an actual grave, which Shippo would then happily fill back up.

But now was not the time to think like that. Kagome was hurting, and scared out of her mind, mumbling incoherent words under her breath that went along the lines of: "hfjaggjytvb… died… sluhfdsaoduh… brokemyarm… Oh, my God…" etc, etc, etc.

Sango, now fully awake, shivered at the chill in the autumn morning air. It wasn't even dawn yet. At first, she had been half-asleep, and had absently wondered why Kagome was awake before her, when the future miko almost always slept in late, until the sun was high in the sky. Sango made it a habit to rise along with the blazing ball of light, and never, not once, had Kagome ever woken up before her unless Inuyasha was there to help.

Although, now that Sango had finally pulled herself together, she knew why Kagome was awake. Nightmares… The tajiya had experienced them quite frequently after the deaths of her family, and she had had no one to console her until after she joined the gang. By then, she wasn't having them anymore, due to being surrounded by friends all the time.

But when Kohaku had returned from the dead, the nightmares had come back again. Only, that time, Kagome had been there for her. So, Sango felt that she needed to pay up to her sisterly figure by doing the same for her.

She quietly approached the woman, and then glared at the monk and the hanyou, silently telling them to stay away. They wouldn't be of any help in this kind of situation. In fact, they would just make it worse by crowding her and overwhelming the miko's senses.

The tajiya wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and brought her in close. She brushed her fingers soothingly through the raven's silky black hair, which was currently frizzy from all the tossing and turning. Shippo curled up into Kagome's lap, just about as terrified as the miko herself.

Sometime around when the sun was up, the future time-traveler was reduced to a couple pitiful sniffles here and there, and was far more aware of the surrounding area, which included the people in it. She was dead tired, and felt grumpier than the Grinch.

Inuyasha knew when to stay away, especially when it concerned Kagome, his life, and the rosary. He prepared breakfast with the monk without any complaints whatsoever.

Miroku was pretty worried for Kagome, but didn't let it show as he kept on smiling like it was any ordinary day (As ordinary as a day can get around the Inutachi, anyways), knowing that Sango had the problem covered. He preformed what were usually the girls' chores in the morning, keeping his mouth shut other than the occasional question to keep up a conversation and try to lighten the mood- which wasn't working, by the way.

Once Kagome was completely back to normal, she refused to look anyone but Sango and Shippo in the eye. She felt weak, and she was ashamed of her actions. It had only been a nightmare. Why had she overreacted so horribly?

Still feeling slightly shaken, Kagome rose up onto her feet with Shippo still cradled in her arms, and in order to take her mind off things, offered to wash some of the gang's dirtied clothes. Miroku gratefully handed her his purple robes, left with only his underclothing, a lighter, looser-fitting navy blue robe. Sango's face turned a suspicious tomato red, but handed Kagome her kimono, which left Sango in her tajiya outfit.

Inuyasha didn't have any clothing for Kagome to wash. He said his haori and hakama were "special" and were always kept "clean and orderly."

'_Hahaha… yeah, right.' _Kagome deadpanned, but on the inside, she was smiling just a little bit. Inuyasha was so weird at times… and that was what she loved about him. And then her slightly happy mood dampened completely.

God, every time she went onto that trail of thought, her insides twisted up into knots and she felt nauseous. Her incarnation flashed through her mind, and Kagome was very close to scowling. Her grip tightened on Shippo, which caused the clothes she was carrying carefully over her shoulder to fall on to the ground.

She let out a noise of frustration, and Shippo hopped out of her arms to help her recover the articles of clothing.

"Thank you so much, Shippo," Kagome smiled warmly, causing Shipp's cheeks to redden in embarrassment.

"N-no problem, Kagome…" he hid his face in Sango's kimono, not wanting Kagome to see the small pink blush that had spread across his cheeks. He enjoyed helping her, after all, and didn't want to seem soft. He needed to be strong around his guardian.

The girl giggled, finding his actions to be tremendously adorable, and picked him up again, along with all of the clothes. He snuggled his head into her neck, breathing in her scent, and reminded himself that although Kagome seemed happy right now, there was still some sadness and a faint trace of fear from the events that had happened back at camp earlier.

She would recover, though, surely. Maybe… possibly. Hopefully. Shippo shivered at the thought of Kagome being sad forever. No, he wouldn't let that happen. He would die before that ever happened to the futuristic miko, and he knew by instinct and common knowledge that he would outlive his guardian, which was unfortunate, when he thought about it. But wasn't that how most demons lived? The parents died after their young were born, right?

His parents had died… but Kagome had picked him right up, and had stopped his bad habits then and there. Of course, with Inuyasha around, he'd developed some nasty new ones, but he was sure to be extra polite around Kagome, partly out of respect, and partly because of fear of what would happen if he wasn't.

They neared the stream, and Kagome set him down to wash the clothes. He pouted, but stopped when he was distracted by some of the bugs on the ground that looked incredibly interesting.

Kagome glanced over at the fiery-haired kit and her mouth upturned into a hesitant smile. He was so innocent at times… when she realized her thoughts were wandering again, she snapped back to reality and focused on washing the robes with all her might, scrubbing really hard to get rid of the dirt. She'd brought some soap from her time, and boy, did it help. It beat having only her hands any day.

Kagome, totally bored out of her mind just fifteen minutes later, shuddered from the chilly air. The cold stream wasn't helping her fingers at all. They were half-frozen, and she could barely feel them anymore, but she continued her task, determined to complete it so she could get back to camp and they could get a move on.

When she suddenly realized Shippo had disappeared somewhere, the girl blinked in surprise, and glanced around the area for any sight of a small figure prancing around.

There was nothing. She dropped the clothes, a wave of despair washing over her. It was too quiet. _'Shippo has to be around. He could be anywhere,'_ she reminded herself quietly, _'so stop freaking out so badly.'_

Even when she kept repeating over and over in her head that Shippo was fine, the motherly side of her was worried to death. "Shippo?!" she called, hoping he would hear and come running.

Nothing happened.

'_Oh, SHIT!'_ she cussed inwardly, which was happening more frequently due to the hanyou who could make a sailor blush. "SHIPPO! WHERE ARE YOU?!" She screeched, now completely and totally freaking out. Forget calming herself down, she wanted to see that her charge was breathing and healthy, _right now_!

She thoroughly searched, turning up rocks, when she noticed a puddle of blood among the bushes. She felt her heart drop inside her chest, and she held back a sob that was threatening to come out. Pushing the bushes aside, her stomach clenched and she felt like throwing up. Lying there in the dirt was a dead bird with its wings torn off and its beak looked like it had been abused pretty horribly.

She backed away slowly, and once she couldn't see it anymore, she ran off towards the camp, horrified. The image had burned itself into her memory, and she couldn't seem to get it out. Even though she'd seen many people die over the past three years, for some reason, this had affected her more than any others did. At first… she thought it would have been Shippo lying there, dead.

And that scared her so much that she was about to cry.

Kagome tumbled in to the camp recklessly, her breath coming out in short pants that signaled she'd run at her fastest speed to get there. Miroku was the only one at the campsite, and his eyebrows rose in question at her antics. "What's wrong?" he asked slowly, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer or not.

It took a minute or two for Kagome to catch her breath, and even then she was having trouble talking.

"Shippo… he's… he's gone missing. What do… I do? What… what if he's been… hurt? Or worse…?" She panted, her hands on her knees, her bangs covering her stormy eyes, which were shining with tears.

Miroku stood up, and crossed the ground quickly to comfort the woman. "Hold on, I'll get Inuyasha so he can follow Shippo's scent and perhaps catch up faster than us just looking around in circles for him." Kagome nodded in agreement, and grabbed her yellow pack, which held medical supplies within it. If Shippo was hurt, she would not be useless to him.

'_Please, please be okay, Shippo…'_ she begged, running after Miroku, who had already set off in Inuyasha's direction.

…_oOo...The Portal of Dreams…oOo…_

Sasuke sat by the hospital bed the mysterious raven-haired woman lay in, with ghostly white sheets draped over her body that made her seem, if possible, even more dead than she already looked. Her face was the only thing about her that was alive. Her cheeks were flushed as if she was suffering from a fever, and her eyebrows were drawn together as her red lips were tilted downwards in a frown, like she was having a bad dream.

Sasuke, _not_ worried _at all_, placed a hand on her forehead, checking her temperature before grunting in displeasure when he found that she was a bit damp with sweat. She probably _was _having a nightmare. He got up on to his feet and gracefully swept across the room, heading towards the bathroom. He turned on the water and ran his hands under it, making sure his palms were extremely cold before turning it off and heading back to her bedside.

Once again, he placed his hands on her forehead, but they were freezing this time, and he thought that if she went into contact with a cold object, her temperature would cool down and then, maybe, she might stop having the nightmare.

Not even a few minutes later, the woman's face relaxed and she sighed, almost like a yawn. Sasuke pulled his hands away, his objective accomplished. He sat back down and looked out the window.

It was evening. The sky was already dark, and the Uchiha leaned back in his seat, thinking back to earlier. Lady Tsunade had been pretty pissed at first, but after hearing Sasuke out, and taking in the facts, she reluctantly let him take the injured girl to the hospital, but on one condition. He had to stay at the girl's side the whole time, and interrogate her when she awoke. He almost scrunched up his nose in distaste at the thought, but kept his face emotionless, like usual. He let his gaze wander over to the woman again, and observed her face a little closer than before.

She looked to be around the age of nineteen or twenty, and when the nurses had given her an eye exam to make sure her eyesight was in good condition, he'd noticed that her eyes were gray, like angry clouds that cried rain for days on end. "What nice thought," he muttered sarcastically, but only after making sure no one was around to hear him.

Suddenly, there was movement, and the woman threw herself upright in bed. Sasuke jumped to his feet, startled, and almost tripped over his feet doing so. The girl's breathing was erratic and out of control, her eyes wild. She let her eyes trail across the room before they landed on the Avenger, and then up at the ceiling. "Oh, dear God, why have you done this to me?" she asked hoarsely to no one in particular other than the sky above.

…_oOo...The Portal of Dreams…oOo…_

OKAY! CHAPTER ONE FINISHED. FINALLY. AUUUGHHH… *Tugs hair out*

See you… in a week, maybe? I don't know. BUT YOU SHALL SEE ME. I HAVE ALREADY STARED CHAPTER TWO.

(Three sentences down, and five billion more to go!) YAYYYY… NOT.

~Keema Lana


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